Play Away (TV Series 1971–1984) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Songs, jokes and sketches with Brian Cant and the Play Away crew. Stars: a list of 238 titles created 08 Feb 2012 a list of 864 titles created 07 Dec 2014 Search for " Play Away " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Title: Play Away (1971–1984) 7.6/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Add Image Add an image Do you have any images for this title? Several editions of this series were destroyed as late as the early 1990's.

See more » Connections (Ambrosia) – See all my reviews Some time ago, ex-folk singer Toni Arthur was at the Edinburgh festival ( where she'd directed a show ) when a stranger dashed over and, fighting to keep the emotion out of his voice, said: "I love you!". It was Phill Jupitus. I know exactly how he felt. Like loads of kids who grew up in the '70's, I too was bewitched by the husky-voiced Ms.Arthur. She was sexy, funny and a great singer to boot. She and her then-husband Dave appeared in 'Play Away' - a spin-off from the B.B.C. children's show 'Play School' - which graced Saturday afternoons from 1971-84. Whereas 'School' only featured two presenters ( as well as toys such as Big Ted, Little Ted, Jemima, Hamble and the unforgettable Humpty ) and was semi-educational in content, 'Away' had the appearance of a child's birthday party that had been gatecrashed by students weaned on Music Hall humour.

Brian Cant, Derek Griffiths, Johnny Ball, Carol Chell, Anne-Marie Hackett and others left no corny gag untouched over the course of the series ( many were prefaced with 'I say, I say, I say...' and were punctuated by the honking of motor horns ). Songs featured too, of course. Jonathan Cohen usually sat at the piano. Several presenters went on to bigger things, including Anita Dobson, Julie Covington, Tony Robinson, and Jeremy Irons. I used to catch the show ( it often followed the B.B.C.-2 afternoon film ) while nervously waiting for Jon Pertwee's 'Dr.Who' to get underway on B.B.C.-1. One could not help but be charmed by its naivety, and what a shame someone cancelled it for being 'old hat' when 'Blue Peter' is still running. With modern-day presenters being barely out of their teens, it makes me glad children's television in those days was largely free of ageism. I recently called at my sister's home and found my seven year old niece watching C.B.B.C. What I saw and heard made my blood run cold.

An animated man was playing a tune by simultaneously breaking wind at both ends. This may strike some as hysterical, but I found it unfunny and pathetic, and my niece seemed to think so too. How sad that children's television has descended to this moronic level. There's enough of that kind of rubbish in the so-called 'adult' comedy shows. I share Floella Benjamin's ( now a Lib Dem peer! ) concerns. The genre is trying too hard to compete with computer games. Children are being bombarded with images at a rate that is quite worrying. 'Play Away' made me think the world was a nice place, and in its own silly way injected sunshine into the lives of a lot of children. As she rightly says: "don't give them what they want, give them what they need.". The 'Play Away' title sequence featured an animated plane ( flown by a Biggles-lookalike ) whose vapour trails spelt out the show's name. Oh yes, that theme song went like this: "it doesn't matter if its raining or its fine, as long as you find the time to P-L-A-Y Play Away, Play Away etc.".

I watched a complete episode thanks to the B.B.C.'s Archive Trial in 2007 ( now why don't they bring that back? ) and found it had lost none of its appeal. 3 of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Playschool | CBBC on Choice Wikia | Fandom powered by Wikia CBBC on Choice Wikia Share Play School is a British children's television series produced by the BBC which ran from 21 April 1964 until 14 October 1988. Devised by Joy Whitby , it accidentally became the first programme to be shown on the fledgling BBC2 after a power cut halted the opening night's programming (and later it became the first children's programme to be shown in colour by that channel). [1 ] Play School originally appeared on weekdays at 11am on BBC2 and later acquired a mid-afternoon BBC1 repeat. The morning showing was transferred to BBC1 in September 1983 when BBC Schools programming transferred to BBC2.

It remained in that slot even after daytime television was launched in October 1986 and continued to be broadcast at that time until it was superseded in October 1988 by Playbus, which soon became Playdays . When the BBC scrapped the afternoon edition of Play School in September 1985, to make way for a variety of children's programmes in the afternoon, a Sunday morning compilation was launched called Hello Again!. There were several opening sequences for Play School during its run, the first being "Here's a house, here's a door. Windows: 1 2 3 4, ready to knock? Turn the lock - It's Play School." This changed in the early seventies to "A house, with a door, 1 2 3 4, ready to play, what's the day? It's..." In this version blinds opened on the windows as the numbers were spoken. The blinds were no longer featured towards the end of the 1970s and the word "windows" was added before "1 2 3 4". The final opening sequence involved a multicoloured house with no apparent windows.

This was used from 1983 until the end of the programme. This saw the most radical revamp of the programme overall (not just in the opening titles). The opening legend then became "Get ready - to play. What's the day? It's..." Presenters included the first black host of a children's show, Paul Danquah ; Brian Cant , who remained with the show for 21 years; actress Julie Stevens ; former pop singers Lionel Morton and Toni Arthur ; husband and wife Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law ; Italian model Marla Landi ; and Balamory producer Brian Jameson. Don Spencer also appeared on the Australian version. [1 ] Play School and another BBC children's television programme Jackanory were sometimes recorded at BBC Birmingham or BBC Manchester when BBC Television Centre in London was busy. Contents Karen Platt Christopher Bramwell In many cases five programmes would be produced in the space of two days, [1 ] with one day of rehearsal and one day of recording. Edit The presenters were accompanied by a supporting cast of cuddly toys and dolls.

The five regulars included: Humpty, a dark green large egg-shaped soft toy with green trousers, to look like Humpty Dumpty from the nursery rhyme, appeared in the very first programme in April 1964. Several versions were made. Big Ted and Little Ted, teddy bears . (Originally there was only the one Teddy, however this was stolen in the mid-1970s and replaced by the two Teds.) Jemima, a ragdoll with long red and white striped legs. Hamble was a little doll and one of the original five toys but dropped from the show during the 1980s to be replaced by Poppy. According to Joy Whitby, creator of Play School, Hamble was chosen as representative of a more "downtrodden", humble background than the " middle-class " associations that the teddy bears had. [4 ] She was disliked by presenters as she could not be cuddled. [5 ] According to the BBC website Chloe Ashcroft "did a terrible thing to Hamble.

She just would not sit up...so one day I got a very big knitting needle, a big wooden one, and I stuck it right up her bum, as far as her head. So she was completely rigid, and she was much much better after that." [5 ] Poppy, a black doll who replaced Hamble in November 1986, in response to changing attitudes in society (the Hamble doll was also getting rather fragile at this point.) A rocking horse named Dapple was first seen in May 1965 and made occasional appearances, when a particular song or item suggested it. The final line up of toys are on display as exhibits of the National Media Museum , Bradford. However Hamble went missing after being dropped from the programme. Pets The pets were cared for by Wendy Duggan, Fellow of the Zoological Society. [6 ] Contents of the show Edit A section of each episode was a filmed excursion into the outside world taken through one of three windows: the young viewers were invited to guess whether the round, square, or arched window would be chosen that day. A triangular window was added in 1983.

Very often the film would be of a factory producing something such as chocolate biscuits, or of a domestic industry such as refuse collection, but a number of subject matters were covered, such as watching animals or fish, boats on a lake, children in a playground or at school, a family going tenpin bowling, people in a cafe and visiting a jumble sale , among other things. At the beginning of the 1983 revamp, the windows were now referred to as "shapes" as in "'let's have a look through one of the shapes..." After the shapes being moved to a spinning disc, the programme went back to using windows which resembled those used in the late 70s, albeit with the addition of the triangular window. Whenever they were shown now, only the window that the show was using for the day would be the one that would be used on the set. Each episode would also include a short story read from a book, introduced by checking the time on a clock. Normally the clock would show either an hour or a half hour and the young viewers were asked, "Can you tell what time the clock says today?

Well, the long hand is pointing straight up, so that means it's something o'clock - and the short hand is pointing to the number...two (or whatever). So today, the clock says, two...o'...clock" (the latter phrase always delivered very slowly). This was followed by, "But what's underneath the clock?", and viewers would then see a turntable under the clock featuring certain items such as toy animals or clocks, which were, in a clever twist, always a clue to the forthcoming story. This was all accompanied by a slightly eerie, yet undeniably catchy, clock-like tune. (On one occasion, the item under the clock turned out to be none other than Little Ted, so the presenter concerned said, "What a very odd place for a toy to be!" and the story appropriately turned out to be about odd things). Both the clock and the three window option live on in the children's programme Tikkabilla , which borrows much from Play School, while a similar choice of portal into a film clip was provided by the abdomen-mounted video displays in the children's show Teletubbies . There would also be songs and stories.

From 1971 to 1984, Play School also had a sister programme called Play Away . Many 2 inch Quadruplex videotape master copies of Play School editions were wiped by the BBC in 1993 on the assumption that they were of no further use and that examples of some other episodes were sufficient. [7 ] Repeats Edit Playschool has been shown on BBC2 in the morning from its debut in 1964 with an afternoon repeat on BBC1 usually around 4pm, After it ended in 1988, it has never been repeated expect for Christmas 1999 and 2000 on CBBC on Choice, it has showed three festive editions first shown on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day 1985 with the episodes "Christmas Eve", "It's Christmas Day!" and "It's a Magic Box for Boxing Day". The Christmas Eve episode has been shown once in 2000, Christmas Day twice in 1999/2000 and Boxing Day once in 1999. It has appeared twice each Christmas.

The first time they showed the episode "It's Christmas Day!" was on Saturday 25th December 1999 in the morning only at 7.40am and 9.40am and "It's a Magic Box for Boxing Day" was on Sunday 26th December 1999 at 7.35am and 9.35am and again was only shown in the morning. Playschool appeared again a year later in Christmas 2000, They showed the Christmas Eve episode from 1985 on Sunday 24th December 2000 at 7.40am, 10.40am, 1.40pm and 4.40pm which wasn't broadcast in 1999 and was shown once only.

the Christmas Day episode was shown on Christmas Day on Monday 25th December 2000 and the times it was shown were at 7.00am, 10.00am, 1.00pm and 4.00pm in place of the first episode of the Tweenies, Tweenies was shown in it's usual 9.00am, 12.00pm, 3.00pm and 6.00pm slot over Christmas 2000, The Boxing Day episode was not repeated in 2000, for the rest of Christmas 2000, Little Bear has appeared in the 7am, 10am, 1pm and 4pm slots until Monday 1st January 2001. It has not been repeated since and only twice a year it has appeared on CBBC on Choice like Jackanory, Playschool and Jackanory were not shown at Christmas 2001. No regular episodes of Playschool have been shown.

15 years later, a 1976 edition has been shown on BBC4 on December 21st 2015 at 7.30pm as part of a evening dedicated to classic children's TV. Play School | 20 great TV shows for young children - TV TV Previous slide Next slide 9 of 20 View All Skip Ad Play School Play School ran on the BBC between 1964 and 1988. It featured a mixture of presenters, and a supporting cast of toys including Big Ted and Little Ted, a rag doll named Jemima, an egg-shaped toy named Humpty, and dolls Hamble and Poppy. Pictured here are presenters Brian Cant and Chloe Ashcroft. Credit: BBC VINTAGE HUMPTY DUMPTY TING A LING MERRYTHOUGHT PLAYSCHOOL BBC TV HAMBLE TEDDY | Antique | Bears - Zeppy.io Over 100 million products!

Home Dolls & Bears Bears Antique VINTAGE HUMPTY DUMPTY TING A LING MERRYTHOUGHT PLAYSCHOOL BBC TV HAMBLE TEDDY VINTAGE HUMPTY DUMPTY TING A LING MERRYTHOUGHT PLAYSCHOOL BBC TV HAMBLE TEDDY Comment on this product VINTAGE MERRYTHOUGHT TING A LING HUMPTY DUMPTY - BBC TV CHARACTER FROM PLAYSCHOOL. Here we have a lovely "Ting-a-ling" HUMPTY DUMPTY character toy. He was made in the 1960s when the popular BBC children's television programme Playschool was on the television and Humpty featured along with his friends - Jemima, Hamble, Big Ted and Little Ted. Humpty measures around 28 cms with his original label "Merrythought Ironbridge Shrops" and he has bells in his tummy which ting-a-ling when moved. His "egg head" is velvet with felt applied eyes, wool nose (which matches his hair) and his outfit is cotton print which forms part of his body (i.e.

non removable) Humpty is in overall good condition, just a bit grubby due to his age. He will make a nice new addition to someone's collection or display well with vintage teddy bears. Please look at the photos and ask any questions before bidding, thank you and good luck. ALL ITEMS FROM A SMOKE FREE HOME. Please look at my other auctions for more interesting collectables and toys. UK postage would be £3.99 (royal mail signed for postage) and overseas bidders are welcome - please email for accurate postage costs as those stated here are maximum and may be cheaper for your country. Prompt payment within 5 days of auction end please, thank you.

CBBC: Little Kids | Character Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Yoho Ahoy: Grog's Musical Chairs Balamory: Nessie's Story Tikkabilla: The Sun and the Wind CBeebies Fairytales: Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Elves and the Shoemaker, Nian, The Elephant and the Mouse and A Midsummer Night's Dream Sarah and Duck: The Balloon Race Peter Rabbit: The Unguarded Garden and Three up a Tree In the Night Garden: Makka Pakka's Musical Stones Andy Pandy's Birthday Cake Tree Fu Tom's Big Ranch Rodeo and The Missing Spell Stone Melody: Little Red Riding Hood Topsy and Tim: Helping Dad Swashbuckle: A Band of Naughty Pirates and Pirate of the Year Awards CBeebies Stargazing: The Eclipse Party Tee and Mo: Who did the Footprints?

Tweenies: 1002 Arabian Nights 1st December (Swashbuckle, Dennis the Menace and Shaun the Sheep) 2nd December (Topsy and Tim, Strange Hill High and Basil Brush) 3rd December (Something Special, I Can Cook and The Magic Roundabout) 4th December (Baby Jake, Andy Pandy and Morph) 5th December (Show Me Show Me, Tikkabilla and Let's Play) 6th December (Sarah and Duck, Bodger & Badger and Numberjacks) 7th December (Andy's Wild Adventures, Driver Dan's Story Train and Oakie Doke) 8th December (Nina and the Neurons, Mr Benn and Yoho Ahoy) 9th December (Postman Pat, Get Squiggling and Tweenies) 10th December (Charlie and Lola, Crystal Tipps and Alistair and Play School) 11th December (Tee and Mo, Fingermouse and Horrible Histories) 12th December (Timmy Time, Willo the Wisp and Fimbles) 13th December (Tree Fu Tom, Fireman Sam and Boogie Beebies) 1

4th December (Grandpa in my Pocket, The Herbs and You and Me) 15th December (Justin's House, Bob the Builder and Hector’s House) 16th December (Mr Bloom's Nursery, Alphablocks and Greenclaws) 17th December (Octonauts, In the Night Garden and The Woodentops) 18th December (Mike the Knight, Camberwick Green and Mr Blooby) 19th December (Old Jack's Boat, Roly Mo and Playdays) 20th December (Teletubbies, Rag, Tag and Bobtail and Tilly and Friends) 21st December (Mister Maker, Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men and Roobarb and Custard) 22nd December (Gigglebiz, The Story Makers and Otis the Aardvark) 23rd December (Peter Rabbit, ZingZillas and Melody) 24th December (Romuald the Reindeer, Pingu and Bagpuss) 25th December (All Shows) 1st December (The Numtums, Muffin the Mule and Camberwick Green) 2

nd December (Mike the Knight, Mr Blobby and Fingermouse) 3rd December (Gigglebiz, Basil Brush and Greenclaws) 4th December (Tee and Mo, Fireman Sam and Ivor the Engine) 5th December (Fly-High and Huggy, Melody and Boogie Beebies) 6th December (Swashbuckle, Play School and Show Me Show Me) 7th December (Justin's House, The Wombles and Charlie and Lola) 8th December (Boj, Tweenies and Bodger & Badger) 9th December (Something Special, Oakie Doke and Willo the Wisp) 10th December (Nina and the Neurons, Andy Pandy and Crystal Tipps and Alistair) 11th December (Peter Rabbit, Fimbles and Morph) 12th December (Bing, Roobarb and Custard and Playdays) 13th December (Grandpa in my Pocket, In the Night Garden and Rag, Tag and Bobtail) 14th December (Driver Dan's Story Train, Get Well Soon and Let's Play) 15th December (Tree Fu Tom

, Dennis the Menace and Roly Mo) 16th December (Sarah and Duck, You and Me and Tikkabilla) 17th December (Octonauts, ZingZillas and Alphablocks) 18th December (Topsy and Tim, Postman Pat and Andy's Wild Adventures) 19th December (The Furchester Hotel, I Can Cook and Rastamouse) 20th December (Kate and Mim-Mim, Shaun the Sheep and Bob the Builder) 21st December (Katie Morag, Mr Bloom's Nursery and Horrible Histories) 22nd December (Teletubbies, Yoho Ahoy and The Story Makers) 23rd December (Old Jack's Boat, Tilly and Friends and Bagpuss) 24th December (Otis the Aardvark, The Magic Roundabout and Strange Hill High) 25th December (All Shows) 1st December (Go Jetters, Shaun the Sheep and Horrible Histories) 2nd December (Twirlywoos, Let's Play and The Shiny Show) 3rd December (Hey Duggee, Tilly and Friends

 and Mr Bloom's Nursery) 4th December (Teletubbies, Crystal Tipps and Alistair and Dennis the Menace) 5th December (Bing, Melody and Same Smile) 6th December (Clangers, I Can Cook and Get Well Soon) 7th December (Tree Fu Tom, Boogie Beebies and ZingZillas) 8th December (Peter Rabbit, Basil Brush and You and Me) 9th December (Something Special, Greenclaws and Tweenies) 10th December (Footy Pups, Rastamouse and Mr Blobby) 11th December (Charlie and Lola, Strange Hill High and Otis the Aardvark) 12th December (Swashbuckle, Tikkabilla and Roobarb and Custard) 13th December (Katie Morag, Camberwick Green and Oakie Doke) 14th December (My Pet and Me, Driver Dan's Story Train and Play School) 15th December (Octonauts, Morph and Minibeast Adventure with Jess) 16th December (Topsy and Tim, Playdays and The Wombles) 17th

 December (Sarah and Duck, Andy's Wild Adventures and Fly-High and Huggy) 18th December (CBeebies' Alice in Wonderland, The Story Makers and Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men) 19th December (Postman Pat, Bagpuss and Fimbles) 20th December (Show Me Show Me, Bodger & Badger and Fireman Sam) 21st December (Grandpa in my Pocket, Roly Mo and Tee and Mo) 22nd December (Nelly and Nora, Woolly and Tig and Get Squiggling) 23rd December (Dirtgirlworld, Willo the Wisp and The Numtums) 24th December (In the Night Garden, Fingermouse and Boj) 25th December (The Furchester Hotel, Rag, Tag and Bobtail and Ivor the Engine) 26th December (Invited to Phoebe, Tree Fu Tom, Jelly and Jackson, Shaun the Sheep and Melody) 27th December (Invited to Small and Tiny Clanger, Greenclaws, Roobarb, Basil Brush and Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy) 28

th December (Invited to Gem, Tamba, Nelly and Nora, Mr Tumble and Oakie Doke) 29th December (Invited to Ubercorn, Morph, Sarah and Duck, Rastamouse and Great BigHoo) 30th December (Invited to Topsy and Tim, Otis the Aardvark, Humpty, Boj and Captain Barnacles) 31st December (All Shows) 1st December (Something Special, Otis the Aardvark and Basil Brush) 2nd December (Go Jetters, Tikkabilla and Let's Play) 3rd December (Jamillah and Aladdin, ZingZillas and Dirtgirlworld) 4th December (Andy's Prehistoric Adventures, Strange Hill High and Minibeast Adventure with Jess) 5th December (Bing, Fingermouse and I Can Cook) 6th December (Swashbuckle, Playdays and Bodger & Badger) 7th December (Twirlywoos, Tilly and Friends and The Story Makers) 8th December (Peter Rabbit, Melody and Yoho Ahoy) 9th December (Topsy and Tim

, Horrible Histories and Rag, Tag and Bobtail) 10th December (Justin's House, Get Squiggling and Show Me Show Me) 11th December (Footy Pups, Morph and Boogie Beebies) 12th December (My Pet and Me, Roobarb and Custard and Play School) 13th December (Tee and Mo, Andy Pandy and Greenclaws) 14th December (Spot Bots, Binka and The Wombles) 15th December (The Furchester Hotel, Fimbles and Shaun the Sheep) 16th December (CBeebies' The Nutcracker, Woolly and Tig and Crystal Tipps and Alistair) 17th December (Grandpa in my Pocket, Postman Pat and Camberwick Green) 18th December (Old Jack's Boat, Gigglebiz and Bagpuss) 19th December (Tree Fu Tom, Boj and Mr Blobby) 20th December (Octonauts, Roly Mo and The Shiny Show) 21st December (Clangers, Nelly and Nora and Charlie and Lola) 23rd December

 (Sarah and Duck, Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men and Oakie Doke) 24th December (In the Night Garden, Wallace and Gromit and Willo the Wisp) 25th December (All Shows) The Furchester: Furchester on Wheels Clangers: Major's Meteor In the Night Garden: Makka Pakka's Stone Concert Andy Pandy: Puppeteer Pandy and Potato Prints Peter Rabbit: The Tale of the One the Got Away Oakie Doke and the Oakie Hollows Fete Bill and Ben: The Rainbow Mike the Knight: Hidden Garden Games Octonauts and the Mimic Octopus Fimbles: Triangle Yoho Ahoy Fun Time: Art with Crow/Sail with Jones Q Pootle 5: The Bubble Craters Topsy and Tim: New Pet Charlie and Lola: Never Ever Never Step on the Cracks Noddy and the Fishing Rod Melody: Flying High Ruff Ruff Tweet & Dave: A Birthday Party Adventure Chloe's Closet: Singing at Sea Chuggington: Koko's Puppy Training Albert the Fifth Musketeer (part of Ants in your Pants) The All-New Popeye Show The Animals of Farthing Wood Ants in your Pants

 Barney (part of Ants in your Pants) Bod (part of Ants in your Pants) Bodger and Badger Brum (part of Ants in your Pants) The Brollys (part of Ants in your Pants) Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars The Busy World of Richard Scarry Camberwick Green (part of Ants in your Pants) Cartoon Critters The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Charlie Chalk (part of Ants in your Pants) Christopher Crocodile (part of Ants in your Pants) ChuckleVision The Clangers (part of Ants in your Pants) Crystal Tipps and Alistair (part of Ants in your Pants) Dino Babies Enid Blyton's Enchanted Lands (part of Ants in your Pants) The Family Ness (part of Ants in your Pants) Fiddley Foodle Bird Funnybones (part of Ants in your Pants) The Further Adventures of SuperTed Gordon the Gopher The Greedysaurus Gang (part of Ants in your Pants) Greenclaws Hairy Jeremy (part of Ants in your Pants) Happy Families Henry's Cat (part of Ants in your Pants) Jim Henson's Animal Show Joe

 (part of Ants in your Pants) Johnson and Friends Joshua Jones (part of Ants in your Pants) King Rollo (part of Ants in your Pants) Little Bear The Little Polar Bear (part of Ants in your Pants) The Magic Roundabout (part of Ants in your Pants) Monster Café Monty the Dog (part of Ants in your Pants) Moomin Mr.

Benn (part of Ants in your Pants) The Mysterious Cities of Gold The New Yogi Bear Show Noddy Alice, Archie, Buster, Frank, George, Josie, Mitzi, Ned, Penny and Sammy Andy Pandy, Looby Loo and Teddy Angelmouse, Flying Angelmouse, Angelmouse and his friend Quilly and Little Petal Animals, Booty and Cutlass Aquarium, Dot to Dot and Spot the Difference Baby Pom from Fimbles, Fimbo, The Fimbles and Florrie and Little one Back-To-Front, Lucy, Princess, Claude, Hi-Fi, Dotty and Sad Sack Baz, Dylan and Molly Beebie in the Flowers, Beebie at the Beach and Beebie on the Swing Ben, Bill, Bill and Ben, Gnome, Rose, Scamper, Slowcoach, Thistle and Weed Big Ears, Noddy, Noddy's car, PC Plod, Sly and Tessie Bear Binka, Tango and Suki Blue Cow, Jackson and Jelly Bob the Builder, Bob on Wheels, Wendy, Spud, Pilchard and Lofty Boo, Growling Tiger, Laughing Duck and Sleeping Bear Brum and Brum in the City Charlie Chalk

, Charlie's house and Lewis T.

Duck Clifford, Emily and Hide and Seek Crystal Tipps, Alistair and Birdie and Crystal Tipps' Plane Cush, Lillian, Ruby Rae and Suzanne Magique Dogsby, Mukka and Tigs Edie McCredie, Josie Jump, PC Plum and Spencer El Nombre, Don Fandango and Little Juan EW, Buzz, Moggy, Nifty, Shelly and Thera Fizz from Tweenies, Tweenies Dancing and Doodles from Tweenies Greenclaws, Greenclaws with an Tuba and Owlm Joshua Jones and Fairport, Ravi and Spanner Little Hoot, Flea, 99 and Fireflies Little Red Tractor and Stan, Patch and Stumpy Lucy, Molly and Giggles and Tickles Mickey Maker, Digby Mole, Puzzlesnuff and Count Hoot Nib, Ogi and Bobin Norman, Fireman Sam and Sarah Oakie Doke, Oakie Doke on his Scooter and Dave and Denzil Paddington, Padington with His Suitcase and Paddington with an Umbrella Pablo & Pumpkin, Pablo, Finbar & Pumpkin and Pablo's family Pingu, Pingu with his sack and Pingu with his sleigh Pipp

in, Pippin's head and Plane Postman Pat, Postman Pat and Jess and Postman Pat with his bag Prof, Dixie and Trixie Spot in the Snow, Spot and his Family and Spot shopping with Sally Tamba, Justin, Simon, Sarah Jane, Lorna, Beverley and Paul Teletubbies Dancing, Teletubbies 'Big Hug', Po on her Scooter, Tinky-Winky, Teletubby Bye-Bye, Teletubbies listen to a Voice Trumpet and Po with a Watering Can Tilly, Tom and Tiny Tiny, Sporty, Noisy, Scary, Spotty and Stripy Tubb, Reg, Sploshy, Finbar, Amelia, Terence and Winona Twinkle, Chloe and House Fimbles (A Big Fimbly Thank You) Fireman Sam (Be my Hero) Greenclaws (Let's grow Fowers) Joshua Jones (Have a great Adventure) The Koala Brothers (Call the Koala Brothers!) Little Red Tractor (Congratulations!) The Little Animals Activity Center (Let's Make) Noddy (Goodness me, I forgot your Birthday!) Oakie Doke (You're my best friend!) Pablo the Little

 Red Fox (Let's have an Adventure) Pingu (Have a fun Birthday) Postman Pat (You forgot my Present) The Raggy Dolls (Good thinking Everyone!) Sergeant Stripes (Have a lovely day!) The Shiny Show (Give yourself a Shiny!) Spot (Thanks for my Present) Starhill Ponies (Scruffy says hello) Step Inside (Read a story) Story Makers (Jelly and Jackson say hello) Teletubbies (Big Hug) Tikkabilla (Do a little wiggle!) Tots TV (Bonjour) 64 Zoo Lane (Lucy, Georgina, Nelson, Tickles, Giggles, Boris and Molly) Andy Pandy (Andy, Teddy, Looby Loo, Missy Hissy, Tiffo, Bilbo and Orbie) Angelmouse (Angelmouse, Quilly, Elliemum, Baby Ellie, Oswald, Spencer, Little Petal and Hutchskin) Balamory (Miss Hoolie, Archie, Josie Jump, Edie McCredie, PC Plum, Spencer, Suzie Sweet and Penny Pocket) Barnaby Bear (Barnaby Bear) The Beebie Bunnies (Beebie and Bracken Bunny) Big

 Cook Little Cook (Ben and Small) Bill and Ben (Bill, Ben, Weed, Boo, Scamper, Whimsy, Whoops, Slowcoach, Pry, Tad, Thistle and Rose) Binka (Binka, Suki, Tango and Spit) Bits and Bobs (Bits, Bobs and Trug) Bob the Builder (Bob, Scoop, Muck, Dizzy, Lofty, Wendy, Spud, Pilchard and Bird) Bobinogs (Nib, Ogi and Bobin) Boo (Boo, Growling Tiger, Laughing Duck and Sleeping Bear) Brum (Brum) Charlie Chalk (Charlie Chalk, Captain Mildred, Mary the Hover Fairy, Lewis T.

Duck, Arnold the Elephant, Edward, Trader Jones and Bert) Clifford the Big Red Dog (Clifford, Cleo, T-Bone and Emily Elizabeth) Come Outside (Auntie Mabel and Pippin) Crystal Tipps and Alistair (Crystal Tipps, Alistair, Birdie and Butterfly) El Nombre (El Nombre, Don Fandango, Little Juan and Tanto) Fab Lab (Prof, Dixie and Trixie) Fimbles (Fimbo, Florrie, Baby Pom, Rockit, Roly Mo, Bessie and Ribble) Fireman Sam (Sam, Elvis, Penny Morris, Trevor, Norman, Sarah and James) Greenclaws (Greenclaws and Owlm) Joshua Jones (Joshua Jones, Joe Laski, Spanner Wilkins, Fairport, Ravi and Fiona) The Koala Brothers (Alice, Archie, Buster, Frank, George, Josie, Mitzi, Ned, Penny and Sammy) The Little Animals Activity Center (Digby Mole, Mickey Maker, Puzzlesnuff, Storybear, Count Hoot and Foxy Dancer) Little Red Tractor (Little Red Tractor, Stan, Ryan, Amy and St

umpy) LIttle Robots (Tiny, Sporty, Stripy, Noisy, Spotty and Scary) Noddy (Noddy, Big-Ears, PC Plod, Bumpy Dog, Mr.

Wobbly Man, Tessie Bear, Martha Monkey, Sly and Gobbo) Oakie Doke (Oakie Doke, Grannie Annie, Lizzie, Root, Hickory, Dave and Denzil) Pablo the Little Red Fox (Pablo, Pumpkin, Poppy, Baxter, Finbar and Madam Owl) Paddington Bear (Paddington) Pingu (Pingu, Pinga, Robby, Papa and Mana) Postman Pat (Postman Pat, Jess, Ted Glen, PC Selby, Jeff Pringle, Dr.

Sylvia Gilbertson, Reverend Timms, Mrs Goggins and Major Forbe) The Raggy Dolls (Sad Sack, Dotty, Hi-Fi, Lucy, Back-To-Front, Claude, Princess, Ragamuffin, Edward and Rupert the Roo) Rubbadubbers (Tubb, Reg, Sploshy, Finbar, Amelia, Terence and Winona) Sergeant Stripes (Sergeant Stripes, Arabella, Fluffy and Hector) The Shiny Show (Tigs, Mukka and Dogsby) Spot (Spot, Helen, Steve and Tom) Starhill Ponies (Molly, Dylan, Scruffy, Baz, Will, Kate, Thomas, Jim Handiman, Ambrose and Mrs Horace Morris) Step Inside (Mr Mopple, Twinkle, Boris and Chloe) The Story Makers (Jackson, Jelly and Milton) Teletubbies (Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, Po and Noo-Noo) Tots TV (Tilly, Tom, Tiny and Furryboo) Tikkabilla (Tamba, Justin, Simon, Sarah Jane, Lorna, Beverley and Paul) Treetown (Tansy

, Rosabelle, Cush, Lillian, Ruby Rae and Suzanne Magique) Tweenies (Bella, Fizz, Jake, Milo, Max, Judy and Doodles) Wedster (Wedster) "Yacki Yoggi Song" - Baby Jake "Theme Tune" - Iconicles "Theme Tune (Give It Up For Da Easy Crew)" - Rastamouse "My Name Is" - Abadas "Theme Tune" - Mike the Knight "Brum Brum, Get Things Done" - Brum "Meet The Veggies" - Mr Bloom's Nursery "Theme Tune" - Gigglebiz "Theme Tune" - In the Night Garden "Theme Tune" - Big & Small "Theme Tune" - Noddy in Toyland "Theme Tune" - Everything's Rosie "The Raggy Dolls Rap" - The Raggy Dolls "I Love Woolly" - Woolly & Tig "Theme Tune" - Andy's Wild Adventures "Boom A Boom Whoop Zing Zoo" - Grandpa in my Pocket "Theme Tune" - The Wotwots "Hey are you Ready to Play" - Tweenies "Theme and Hello Song" - Something Special "Bestest in the Barn" - Charlie and Lola "Mambo

 No 5" - Bob the Builder "Bee (E's Song)" - Alphablocks "Theme & Shiny Show Song Medley" - The Shiny Show "Theme Tune" - Cloud Babies "The Helping Song" - The Koala Brothers "Follow my Leader" - Teletubbies "The Dress Up Song" - Chloe's Closet "Theme Tune" - Tree Fu Tom "Summer Song" - CBeebies Presenters "Goodbye Sun, Hello Moon" - CBeebies Presenters "Winter Song" - CBeebies Presenters "The Big Fun Time Song" - CBeebies Presenters "Christmas Song" - CBeebies Presenters "Abadas Song/Let's Play/I Found the Word/Goodbye Song" - Abadas "Theme Tune" - The Lingo Show "Momo's Theme" - Show Me Show Me "Huzzah for Glendragon" - Mike the Knight "Theme Tune" - Raa Raa The Noisy Lion "Theme Tune" - The Octonauts "Theme Tune" - 64 Zoo Lane "Special Delivery Service Theme" - Postman Pat "Theme Tune" - Numtums "Theme Tune" - Guess with Jess "Want to Make Somebody Smile Give

 Them Pie" - Chloe's Closet "Theme Tune" - Nuzzle and Scratch "Theme Tune" - The Roly Mo Show "Every Day with Grandpa" - Grandpa in my Pocket "Theme Tune" - Tinga Tinga Tales "What's the Story of Balamory" - Balamory "The Finale Song" - Mr Bloom's Nursery "Theme Tune" - Big Barn Farm "Theme Tune" - Oakie Doke "I'm a Shape" - Mister Maker "Time For Yogo" - Waybuloo "Go Engineering Song" - Nina & The Neurons "It's The Weekend" - CBeebies Presenters "Discover & Do" - CBeebies Presenters "The Birthday Song" - CBeebies Presenters "The Time has Come to Say Goodnight" - CBeebies Presenters Play School - Do You Remember?

Play School Television > Play School If the mention of the name Hamble still brings you out in a cold sweat then you are probably one of the huge number of children whose early years were shaped by the long-running and truly iconic Play School. Not only did it start the careers of some of Britain’s best-loved television personalities but it also took its place in BBC history for a quite unexpected reason. It was the first ever programme to be broadcast on BBC2, although it wasn’t planned that way. The launch night of the channel, 19 April 1964, was scuppered by a power cut due to a fire at Battersea Power Station and apart from a few short announcements from a newsreader (which came via the BBC’s news facility at Alexandra Palace, which wasn’t affected by the outage) no programmes went out that evening. At 11am the following morning things were back up and running, and the programme originally scheduled to go out at that time was Play School. And so it started: ‘Here’s a house, here’s a door. Windows: 1,2,3,4. Ready to knock?

Turn the lock: it’s Play School.’ Presenting the first show were Virginia Stride and Gordon Rollings , and the roll call of other people prepared to jump about in brightly coloured dungarees to entertain pre-schoolers is long and filled with familiar names. Different duos appeared daily to keep it fresh; over the years you’d have seen Rick Jones (also famous for Fingerbobs ), everyone’s favourite Brian Cant (who was a part of the show for 21 out of its 24 years), creator of the Magic Roundabout Eric Thompson and his wife, the actress Phylida Law , eccentric maths whiz Johnny Ball , multi-talented children’s television stalwart Derek Griffiths , Carol Leader , Toni Arthur , Kate Copstick …the list goes on and on. Marla Landi has probably the most impressive and varied CV out of the former Play School presenters; during her career she has been a film actress, a top model with several magazine covers in her portfolio and the owner of a successful wig company, as well as being made a Knight of the Italian Republic for services to her culture within the UK.

Almost as important to the show as the presenters were the toys, and so famous were they it’s a fair bet that most people could still name them as well. In the beginning the soft toy area of the show featured just one Teddy, but some ne’er-do-well stole him during the ‘70s and he was never seen again. The Play School team then decided two bears were better than one and the cuddly duo of Big Ted and Little Ted (presumably this was to help the presenters demonstrate the art of opposites) arrived and settled in. At the risk of insulting teddy lovers everywhere they were fairly generic bears with no visible personality, even when they were occasionally dressed up in some kind of comical outfit. Jemima was a ragdoll with Aunt Sally-like painted cheeks; generally dressed like some kind of small Victorian girl in floaty dresses she always came across as a bit wet. If that is something you can accuse a doll of being of course. Humpty was a cheerful green Gonk-style toy, with the proportions of the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. He was adorned in a jovial pair of green and white checked trousers which he wore very high up on his body.

Perhaps Simon Cowell used to watch Play School? Hamble - oh come on, there must be something positive to say about Hamble…Mind you, even the presenters of Play School admitting hating the small, slightly creepy plastic doll, stating that she was ‘too rigid to be cuddled’, although it’s more likely to be the fact that her weird staring eyes made her reminiscent of Chucky, the doll from the film Child’s Play. Who knows what she got up to when the studio lights were off? Joy Whitby, the creator and producer of Play School called her ‘a very ugly, beaten-about doll,’ and Law added ‘If I got frustrated, I’d punch Hamble, the doll with the squashed face.’ Hamble didn’t stand a chance really. Hamble was replaced in the 1980s by Poppy, a black doll brought in supposedly to reflect a more balanced ethical mix (not sure what race Humpty was supposed to be representing here…) and to strengthen the Hamble/Chucky theory even more Hamble mysteriously disappeared after being fired from her showbiz role (insert creepy Chucky laugh here).

Apart from songs, games and a story, each show also featured a short film about simple events; something being made in a factory, the hustle and bustle of a café or animal frolicking, for example. These were accessed by the camera zooming through another of Play School’s iconic images; the windows. Originally they were round, square and arched, with a triangle window being added in 1983. When Play School finished its long run in 1988, some of the key moments of the programme were held on to and later transferred to other BBC children’s shows. The theme of the windows being used as portals to the outside world would later be found in Tikkabilla, a show very similar to Play School, and which also featured a similar clock to the one Play School used for simple pre-school time-telling. Much-loved toddler television the Teletubbies also used the same idea, allowing films to be viewed through the screens on the four characters’ tummies. Play School was recorded mostly at the BBC Television Centre, although sometimes at the BBC studios in either Birmingham or Manchester if London was occupied. It was a fairly rigorous schedule; two days would see up to five programmes being rehearsed and recorded.

In 1971 a sister programme, Play Away, began broadcasting, aimed at a slightly older audience, and with a very catchy theme tune. It ran for 13 years with many of the Play School presenters taking their turn on the new programme, alongside then unknown celebrities like Tony Robinson ( Blackadder’s Baldrick) and Jeremy Irons (hard to take his acclaimed career seriously when you’ve also seen him prancing about in a jaunty top hat next to a woman in a tutu telling a terrible joke). Play School has a few accolades to its name; the afore-mentioned opener of BBC2 and the first children’s programme to be broadcast in colour on the channel but above that it entertained and educated children for 24 years, and for that it deserves to be remembered. But Hamble doesn’t.

Question: Which B.B.C. children's television programme featured the dolls Hamble and Jemima?
Answer: PLAYSCHOOL